How is this possible?

theotherblackguy
theotherblackguy Posts: 19
in Motivation and Support
On June 2nd I weighed myself in the morning, I was 321lbs.

This morning, just 49 days later, I weighed 280lbs.

Can anyone explain to me how a 40lb loss can happen in the space of 50 days?

My predicted weight loss was 2lbs per week eating 1900 calories, however I've eaten from around 850-1100 calories most days (not purposely, just happened that to be how much I'd eaten), usually in two healthy meals + occasional snack, ricecakes, watermelon, etc.

As it appears I'm eating half my recommended calorie intake, even if you double the predicted loss & go to 3.8lbs(ish) loss per week for 7 weeks, it will only add to around 26/27lbs.

Can anyone help me understand where the rest has gone?

*for the record, my scales work fine, I have two different sets and both work fine, others use them too & work perfectly normal.

EDIT* Oh sorry, another thing, my daily routine is pretty much using a computer, I don't exercise purposely what so ever.

Thanks!

Replies

  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    well you arent eating a lot of food and you're losing lean body mass not just fat.

    easy peasy.
  • KeishaGettinFit
    KeishaGettinFit Posts: 86
    I would love to know how that happened a also. Seems like ur body may be eating ur body fat to make up for the missing calories? Lol
  • KeishaGettinFit
    KeishaGettinFit Posts: 86
    What she said makes way more sinse than what I said lol
  • theotherblackguy
    theotherblackguy Posts: 19
    Thanks for the replies, is it doing any long term damage or anything? The meals im eating I actually feel full, I am weighing everything before eating & counting everything. It seems silly to add more when I'm not actually hungry, I don't want to be just eating for the sake of eating.

    As you can probably tell from my size I've never taken any notice for this healthy eating stuff, so I'm a complete novice to it all, apologies in advance if I sound like a complete amateur about it.
  • KeishaGettinFit
    KeishaGettinFit Posts: 86
    Sounds like ur doing everything right. Keep it up
  • RodaRose
    RodaRose Posts: 9,562 Member
    How much protein are you getting each day? How much protein for the week?
  • meshashesha2012
    meshashesha2012 Posts: 8,329 Member
    Thanks for the replies, is it doing any long term damage or anything? The meals im eating I actually feel full, I am weighing everything before eating & counting everything. It seems silly to add more when I'm not actually hungry, I don't want to be just eating for the sake of eating.

    As you can probably tell from my size I've never taken any notice for this healthy eating stuff, so I'm a complete novice to it all, apologies in advance if I sound like a complete amateur about it.

    yes it will do long term damage. you are losing lean body mass. there's a limit to the amount of fat that the body can lose in a day so anything oer that amount is lean body mass ..add to that you arent exercising your body is catabolizing your muscle tissue. quick weight loss (especially when combined with lack of strength training) is a major factor in having loose skin

    and hunger is controlled by two hormones, leptin and ghrelin that can easily be impacted by things not related to how much food you are eating. hunger is not a good indication of whether or not you should or shouldnt be eating.

    just follow the MFP guidelines in terms of calorie goal. you dont have to exercise to lose weight but if you have a significant amount to lose it's a good idea to at least strength train because you'll make sure to keep as much as your lean body mass as possible.
  • liznotyet
    liznotyet Posts: 402 Member
    How much protein are you getting each day? How much protein for the week?

    this, plus vegetables, plus if you have lost that much weight off your knees you are ready for some long walks perhaps. You have proved to yourself you can lose fast, now you have to work on losing fat.
  • CrusaderSam
    CrusaderSam Posts: 180 Member
    Thanks for the replies, is it doing any long term damage or anything? The meals im eating I actually feel full, I am weighing everything before eating & counting everything. It seems silly to add more when I'm not actually hungry, I don't want to be just eating for the sake of eating.

    As you can probably tell from my size I've never taken any notice for this healthy eating stuff, so I'm a complete novice to it all, apologies in advance if I sound like a complete amateur about it.

    yes it will do long term damage. you are losing lean body mass. there's a limit to the amount of fat that the body can lose in a day so anything oer that amount is lean body mass ..add to that you arent exercising your body is catabolizing your muscle tissue. quick weight loss (especially when combined with lack of strength training) is a major factor in having loose skin

    and hunger is controlled by two hormones, leptin and ghrelin that can easily be impacted by things not related to how much food you are eating. hunger is not a good indication of whether or not you should or shouldnt be eating.

    just follow the MFP guidelines in terms of calorie goal. you dont have to exercise to lose weight but if you have a significant amount to lose it's a good idea to at least strength train because you'll make sure to keep as much as your lean body mass as possible.

    This is not true at all. Be careful who you take advice from because the person telling you this has never been over 300 lbs. When you are that big you are going to lose a lot of weight that is not fat or lean body mass. Just to repeat you are going to piss out a lot of water and poop out a bunch stuff that was weight on your scale but isn't fat or muscle.

    Also I did a ton of strength training when I lost the weight and went from pressing 30lb dumbbells to 110s when I hit my goal and I still got lose skin, so don't let other people get in to your head. When I was losing weight I had no end of people telling me what to do and how to do it and I just had to shut them out (or I would have failed like all the other times I tried) and just did what was right for me.
  • SMKean90
    SMKean90 Posts: 55
    well you arent eating a lot of food and you're losing lean body mass not just fat.

    easy peasy.

    Agree with above.



    Also, sometimes your scales might not 'get it right first time'
    e.g. my house is mainly carpet (sadly even the bathroom right now), my scales get upset with the carpet. I have to use the scales in the kitchen to get it right. It can be something silly like that.
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    I would say 25-30 lbs fat loss with a little lean body mass loss, the remainder was probably water weight, with so little food carbs would be lower meaning glycogen in your muscles would be lower, glycogen stores water. Less glycogen, less water retention.
  • leggup
    leggup Posts: 2,942 Member
    You probably lost 10ish lbs of water weight in the first 2-3 weeks. Start weighing yourself more often and you'll see the real trends.
  • brianpperkins
    brianpperkins Posts: 6,124 Member
    You've put yourself on a VLC diet without medical direction or supervision by eating only half of your calories. How much water, fat, and lean mass weight you've lost is pure conjecture with the only data point provided being a total weight.

    Now is the time to get smart about how you're losing weight.
  • Lizzy622
    Lizzy622 Posts: 3,705 Member
    Great start! You had a lot to lose and luckily your body was ready to lose it. You should eat your calories though and make sure you are getting enough protein. Exercise will also help retain lean muscle mass. Don't get discouraged when the loss slows down it is normal. Congrats on the great start.
  • TheSatinPumpkin
    TheSatinPumpkin Posts: 948 Member
    Congrats on your progress! Keep the momentum.
  • DeguelloTex
    DeguelloTex Posts: 6,652 Member
    yes it will do long term damage. you are losing lean body mass. there's a limit to the amount of fat that the body can lose in a day so anything oer that amount is lean body mass ..add to that you arent exercising your body is catabolizing your muscle tissue. quick weight loss (especially when combined with lack of strength training) is a major factor in having loose skin
    Do you know how much body fat OP has? How do you know how many calories his body can pull from body fat per day?
  • erickirb
    erickirb Posts: 12,294 Member
    yes it will do long term damage. you are losing lean body mass. there's a limit to the amount of fat that the body can lose in a day so anything oer that amount is lean body mass ..add to that you arent exercising your body is catabolizing your muscle tissue. quick weight loss (especially when combined with lack of strength training) is a major factor in having loose skin
    Do you know how much body fat OP has? How do you know how many calories his body can pull from body fat per day?

    I agree, being larger, more fat you can have larger deficit. That said, I would be more worried about the OP getting the required vitamins and minerals on a diet so low in calories, which can lead to malnutrition, weak nails, hair, bad skin, not to mention not getting enough dietary fat can affect hormone levels and absorption of some vitamins, as well as for a healthy digestive tract.
  • theotherblackguy
    theotherblackguy Posts: 19
    Wow thanks for all the replies, it helps a lot.

    I have no idea about my body fat %, I've always been an odd build, a rugby style build. I was labelled a "Fatlete" throughout my school years as I was far heavier than almost everyone yet could perform at a fairly decent level athletically (250lb, 5ft 9 person on the basketball team, for example). Not too long ago I went travelling through Europe & was walking 5-10 miles most days, walking/running has never been a problem for me even at my heaviest although I'm sure it was probably not great for my heart.

    Weight wise I am obviously obese but I've never felt like it, which is probably why I managed to get my weight so high without doing anything about it.

    What are the general views on the chewable multi-vitamins? I've been taking those daily for the last few weeks, are they worth it or should I focus on getting vitamins through food?

    My brother who I live with has some weights so i'll start doing some weight training a few times a week to see if it helps at all.

    Thanks again for all the replies.
  • liznotyet
    liznotyet Posts: 402 Member
    my vote is to get nutrition from real food instead of vitamins unless a blood test reveals a true deficiency despite healthy eating. You get to fill up, you get micronutrients, your body can pace itself at collecting the nutrients from the food. And there is far less risk of overdose. Not as cheap or fast, sorry.
  • smantha32
    smantha32 Posts: 6,990 Member
    the more you weigh, the more you'll lose in the very beginning. It will slow down.
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    In the beginning, especially when you start at a very high weight, there can be a great deal of water weight lost. This is especially true if you cut back on sodium and upped your water intake.

    A lot of people see huge losses in the first 2-4 weeks.
  • RedArizona5
    RedArizona5 Posts: 465 Member
    I agree with Sam nd the others that said its fat your losing not lean mass. Just look at biggest losers they lose all that as well and I think if the participants were in danger of losing that much lean mass to begin with at their weight level then those shows wouldn't exist due to very unhealthy issues. If the biggest loser winners/participants can lose 50+ in x amount of time like what a few weeks then it makes sense. I mean if your close to your weight average and at the highest end of the scale for average weight to height ratio, then, I mean more likely it would be very unhealthy to lose such a great amount at in a month or what have you. But you still got a long road ahead of you and it seems fairly normal to me =) Also I would make sure you keep getting those veggies and try adding so fish like salmon or tuna-fresh or canned tuna if you have to for omega 3's. Get some ground flax seeds by red mill is very good too for omega 3's and wonderful minerals for hair, body and skin.
    Dont skimp on strength training and try to incorporate even a little some protein shakes:)To keep your muscles going strong. Happy trails to getting healthy. And def. seek professional advice not just us because they can do a better guess for what your situation calls so you can get confirmations. It helps. We like helping but getting all the info tailored to your needs will make your efforts render optimum results:D
  • rml_16
    rml_16 Posts: 16,414 Member
    Just look at biggest losers they lose all that as well and I think if the participants were in danger of losing that much lean mass to begin with at their weight level then those shows wouldn't exist due to very unhealthy issues.

    Oh honey ...

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